The Tuck School of Business ranked among the top 10 institutions in five different categories in the Princeton Review's business school rankings, released earlier this week. The achievement is the latest in a series of high rankings for the school.
Tuck ranked second for the best overall academic experience, ninth in the best career prospects category and 10th on the toughest-to-get-in-to list.
Unlike many other ranking systems, the Princeton Review's rankings feature 11 different categories on academics, campus life and student satisfaction.
The school ranked as the second most family friendly school and had the fifth best campus environment, a reflection of Tuck's rural location and residential feel.
"Academically, it's a good preparation for the business world," John Fox Tu'06 said. "You make friends for life, compared to other schools in suburban settings where you might socialize with friends away from school. You're forced to socialize with the people here, and you get to know people you ordinarily wouldn't know well. Everybody socializes with everyone else -- it's unique in that regard."
Fox said Tuck's sense of community added an important element to his academic experience.
"The other night, I was working on a project. It was Sunday night after 10, and we were all cramming to get our work done. Professor Regan was walking around from group to group helping us with our projects," Fox said. "That's really unusual."
Leah Bayer Tu'06 added that the people at Tuck have made her experience there exceptional.
"[Tuck is] small, collegial, academically challenging, has great people and fantastic alums," Bayer said. "I wouldn't want to be anywhere else."
The guide, Princeton Review's "Best 237 Business Schools," ranks the top 10 schools based on student surveys and institutional data. The surveys, administered online during the 2004-2005 school year, asked 16,000 students to provide feedback about their experiences at business school.
Students answered 40 questions about career plans, campus life and academics. Including best professors, greatest opportunity for women and most competitive students, these lists consider myriad aspects of the business school experience.
All but one of the ranking lists included student survey responses in their methods. The toughest to get into category was based solely on institutional data.
The book includes a two-page profile on each school and provides information on academics, admission, financial aid and campus life.
Harvard University, Stanford University and the University of Pennsylvania's business schools rounded out the top three for toughest to get into. As far as the best overall academic experience, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and New York University sandwiched Dartmouth in first and third places, respectively.
Tuck School Dean Paul Danos said recent rankings confirm the school's positive course.
"We will continue to focus on making the Tuck MBA program one of the best in the world," said Paul Danos, dean of the school. "Our strategy is quite clear, and we will remain on a course of continuous improvement, guided by the needs of our students and the advice of our alumni."
These results echo other recent and prestigious Tuck rankings. The Wall Street Journal and Forbes both ranked the school first among business schools this year. Tuck garnered a third place position in The Economist and a sixth place position in U.S. News and World Report.
